30 Rock

30 Rock is a comedy about "TGS with Tracy Jordan" a sketch show (based on Saturday Night Live) run out of 30 Rockefeller Centre in New York. Head writer Liz Lemon has to deal with temperamental stars Tracy Jordan and Jenna Maroney while also appeasing her boss Jack Donaghy. NBC 2006-???

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Episode 2 - When It Rains, It Pours

23 February 2012

Synopsis: Liz has a positive energy now that she is in a relationship and other guys are noticing. She uses her charms on Richie, the head editor to get TGS titles done and he spreads the rumour that they are sleeping together. Jack realises that he will be an old Dad and begins to make DVDs to guide his son through life if he isn't around to do it. Angie gives birth to Tracy's daughter but he manages to get lost on his way to the hospital. Kenneth tries to fill in for him along with still doing everyone's work despite no longer working for NBC.

The Good: All three stories played into the lead characters strengths but none was particularly great.

Liz being positive is more fun than her getting crapped on and Richie did a really nice job in his role. Unlike many 30 Rock guest stars he wasn't made to be crazy or stupid. Instead he was a traditional sit com guest star and his pursuit of his assistant was a pleasant minor plot.

Jack's realisation that he is going to be an old Dad made sense as did filming instructions for his son. The odd line was pretty funny like suggesting that after he is gone Avery may remarry: "I want her to be happy, so his death...must appear to be accidental."Or that the key to healthy hair is "dove...blood." It was a typical Jack plot, allowing him to visit the well of crazy rich guy jokes and ultimately realise (when he learns he is actually to have a daughter) that he can't plan for every contingency.

Wow they really built up the birth of Tracy's daughter. We've been talking about her arrival for over a season (306) and she isn't a boy as I assumed the punch line might be. They shouldn't have trouble finding ways for Tracy to fail at being a conscientious father for once.

The Bad: Tracy and Jack both ended up in montage sequences where the writers indulged themselves in coming up with lines that they think are terribly clever. Some are, some aren't, obviously tastes vary. But what I am confident of is that montages of jokes need specific sit com contexts to work. While Jack's fitted the plot well, Tracy's unexpected Cash Cab ride was too silly. Combined it meant we had a lot of disconnected silly gags to sit through.

Dr Spacemen as ever is just too dumb to be funny, especially in the context of giving birth. The writers put less than zero effort into Kenneth returning to NBC.

Comic Highlight: Tracy is hiding in his dressing room so that he can't miss the birth of his daughter. Dot Com tells Liz that they took away Tracy's cell phone, his wallet "and my mood ring!" Tracy interjects. "And I don't know how I feel about that."